Woman stabs friend after unknowingly given real knife at Tennessee haunted house

by WZTV Staff

Haunted House by Sean MacEntee,CC by 2.0, MGN.jpg

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) - What started out as Halloween fun for a group of friends in Nashville turned into real horror when a woman says she was approached by someone and unknowingly given a real knife which was used to stab her friend.

Metro Police are investigating the stabbing that happened Friday night at Nashville Nightmare, a popular Halloween attraction in Madison. At this attraction, people dressed up in Halloween costumes roam the grounds, interacting with guests and working carnival-type games.

According to an incident report from Metro Police, officers were told that a group of four friends had gone to Nashville Nightmare and while inside the venue area, they were approached by someone whom they thought was a character there. Nashville Nightmare says they also believe the person involved was an employee, who has since been placed on leave.

The woman who was handed the knife, Tawnya Greenfield, says the group had already gone inside the haunted houses and was playing carnival-type games when it happened inside the roped off area.

The possible employee, dressed and talking in character, Greenfield if the victim, a friend of Greenfield's, was messing around with her. Playing along with whom she thought to be a character from the attraction she said "yes." The unknown person then handed Greenfield a knife, which she thought was a prop knife. The person, speaking in character according to Greenfield, then said, “well here, stab him.”

Police said Greenfield, only playing along and believing the knife was a prop, stabbed the victim. Greenfield said she even joked, "ha, ha gotcha!"

But when Greenfield pulled back, she realized the terrifying truth.

"His arm was gushing blood like something out of a horror scene," Greenfield said.

There was blood on the knife, a hole in the victim’s shirt and “blood squirting from the victim’s left arm.” Greenfield told police she didn’t mean to hurt the victim. Medics responded to the Nashville Nightmare and transported the victim to be treated for his injuries at Skyline Hospital.

Greenfield says the unknown person, a man, ran away after the incident.

Two others were in the group with the woman and victim, who corroborate the story about the prop knife.

The person who walked up to the group is still unknown, but Nashville Nightmare is investigating.

Nashville Nightmare gave the following statement:

"The safety and security of our patrons is our top priority, and, for the past 8 years, we have hosted Nashville Nightmare without any security incidents or major injuries.

"We are still confirming the facts, but I can tell you that on Friday night, a male patron was injured by a fellow patron outside the Nashville Nightmare house. Our medical staff responded immediately, and the injured party was transported to the hospital where we understand that he was treated and released.

"We have robust safety and security protocols in place, including metal detectors and onsite medical and security staffs. As we have continued to review the information, we believe that an employee was involved in some way, and he has been placed on leave until we can determine his involvement. We are going over all of our safety protocols with all of our staff again, as the safety and security of all of our patrons is always our main concern. We have not been contacted by the police, but we will cooperate fully with any official investigation."